The roof of a vehicle is a convenient way to stow, hold and transport cargo that is too large, bulky, or unable to fit inside the vehicle, or is otherwise inconvenient for interior vehicle storage. Accordingly, various holders, racks, carriers and the like (collectively, carriers) have been devised for stowing and transporting cargo on the roof of a vehicle. Some carriers are for general purpose while other carriers are for particular purposes such as boats, recreational equipment, camping equipment, bicycles, kayaks, SUPs, and the like.
These prior art vehicle roof top carriers suffer generally from various issues that make them impractical, unwieldy, difficult, and/or clumsy to use. Static vehicle roof top carriers make the user hoist the cargo to the roof for loading it onto the roof top carrier. Heavy cargo thus makes loading and unloading difficult if not dangerous. Because of these issues, various vehicle roof top cargo carriers have been devised having one or more components that can extend from the roof to allow loading and unloading onto the extended component(s). However, even these are disadvantageous. For instance, some vehicle roof top carriers permit loading and unloading only from the side of the vehicle. Depending on where or how the vehicle is parked, one may not be able to load or unload cargo from the side of the vehicle. Moreover, it may be difficult to put the extended portion back onto the roof once cargo has been loaded. Rear load versions use cables, springs or other generally cumbersome manners of receiving then stowing cargo. In still other instances, the vehicle roof top carriers are generally difficult or clumsy to mount, and/or cannot be easily removed, as some have a tall profile that cannot fit under normal overhangs of into garages.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved vehicle roof top cargo carrier that is easy to load and unload for any size and/or weight of cargo. It is further an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle roof top cargo carrier that loads from the rear of the vehicle. It is yet further an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle roof top cargo carrier wherein a portion of the carrier may be removed to reduce the height of the carrier while leaving a frame of the carrier attached to the existing roof rack members of the vehicle. It is still further an object of the present invention to provide a roof top cargo carrier whose cargo holder is pivotal from a horizontal (0°) position to a vertical (90°) position, once the cargo holder is extended from the frame. It is yet further an object of the present invention to provide a versatile roof top cargo carrier that, once pivotally extended into an appropriate configuration, can be used for functions other than holding cargo. Other objects are contemplated and expected.